Door fastener



ZA-75A73 Jimmy 1949.

1.. c. CLAIR DOOR FASTENER Filed Jan.

3nvenlor 00m" 6. (LA/2 5) a. Arron/way Patented July 5, 1949 STATES PATENT? GFFIGE DOOR FASTENER Louis-C. Clair, Palestine, -Tex.', assignor, by direct and niesne assignments, ofthree-sixteenthsto' J. SuLOftiIl; Dallas, three-isixteenth's to Ri F." Peterson; Palestine, and three-sixteenths'vtc-C'. Rompy, Houston, Tex.; one: thirty-second to; J .rMel tonoakes and-Tone thirty-second-to E. A21 Campbell, both of Homer,v La.

Application January'23, 1948, Serial No. 3,985

7 Claimsv (Cl. 292'-181 My invention relates to locks generally but more particularly to fastenersadapted in structure and-operation for application to refrigerator 7' to withstand severe useon the heaviest of doors.

It is a further object of my invention-toprovide' a fastener that is simple to-'manufacture easyto install andawhichr isnt ungainly in appearance when attached=tothedoors of'refrigerator rooms or trucks, or someothepzdoor such 'as ta -vault where an operatorlis" likely to--be locked-"inside either during.. or after working vhours.

It is another .object of myqinvention to provide a'door fastener which maybe locked frornthe-9 outside with a padlock or the like and' yet permit an operator accidentally. imprisoned behind. such door to releasehimselfaand relockthedoorv from the outside .without removing the padlock.

Further objects and .advantageswillbe found in the following detailed description-whenviewed together with the .acc'ompanyingfldrawings in which:

Fig. 1 represents afront elevation sof -a -d0or-- fastener embodyingmy. invention shown as applied to a door.

Fig. 2 is a topplan. view of the fastener shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is across-sectional view-through a-portion of a doorand cdoorijamb-showingthe installation of the fastener. i V

Fig. 4 is.a..similarmviewof -Fig.:3,-thefastener.- being disengaged .iromHthe inside to 'permit the door to open as shown, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical "sectional viewtaken substantially on line .5-5 of Fig.2..

As shownhinlFigul numeral lll designates adoor and numeralll l the doorijamb. Numeral I2 designatesa keeper held totthedoor by screws IS. The keeper will ,is provided with .a beveled leading edge MI,

Fastened to the outside face of the door jamb- II is the fastener housing designated general1yby the letterI-I. The :housing .H consists'in: a flat plate l5 heldagainst the door-lamb II by mounting screws 16) Either. removably, or integrally attached to the flat plate :I 5 is a plunger barrel I1 bored ito tsliiiably receive tapistonnlh fastener that is of rugged construction and able:

The rear .endsof l-the lph'mger.barrel l1 islclosed by aplug l 9. A portionlof the plunger zilfin'thisinstance, is made square rin'i'cross section andjex-- tends through 'a'square'hole provided in 'both the i plug 59 and the pisto :IB'JM The plunger Ellis". further 'providedwithra head TZI "on' the rear end and a beveledlace 'llz matehing the keeper'face i l on its opposite ends I have *arranged 'a com=- pressionspring 23 to "encircle-the *rear portion of the plungerzn havingeone of'its 'ends' abutting against the t plug l 9 rand fthe other "against the head 2! of the plungerr'lllcv.

On the inside of the plunger barrel-l1 and encircling: the plunger-2ll--betweenthe' face of the p1ug l9 and the-rea-r-end of the piston I8 is I a--retaining ring -24: Thus," when an operator: presses against the-headv2l ofthe plunger to compress the spring '23, the retaining ring- 24* presses" against the piston [8 which is normally housed withinthe-forward orzopenh-end of ithe barrel I! to slideit-iorwardin theplunger bar rel- H.-

The first mounting-:mlate I 5 is provided with a :recess 25 in which :an L-shapeddatch -26-.is pivotally mounted; Onei-legof-=thelatch-2ii is arranged to enter "a -slot 21" in the plunger barrel I! and rest in" anotch-28 provided on the cir-- cumfe'rentiatsurface-ofthe "pist0n:i8.- The oppo-- site 1eg=of-the latch- 26 rests on a small compres-- sion spring zfimountedcalsoin the recess 25 of the-fiat plate I 5:"

Extending horizontally" through the door jambll =isx-theinside release pin ill-slidably mounted. in the fiat plate-1 5 onone -endcand ina bearing cap 3lon the other -end; The pin 3lliis further provided with a retainingiring' 32 vwhich prevents. the'pin from. being-removedirom its position in-ithe door V-j amb and'becoming lost ormisplaced.

The forward endof the'plunger 2D is provided with a hole 33 through-which a-retaining pin. 34 may be-placed to keep the doorclosed. This re-v taming-pin 34 is. preferably provided-with a chain. 35 01 the likeattachedtuits-upperend and se-, curely fastenedwto the door jamb- II. There. may even be airacki 3B fastened to the lamb-ll l into which the retainingpin. 34 may be placedwhenthe mechanism is vnot .inhuse; It must. be remembered that the deviceisdesigned for use preferably in combination .with. a conventional latch which is employed to keepthe doorvclosed during periods of normal usage. i

From the above .description. it can be seen that with the pin 3 placed .in ithelhole 33 of the plunger 2t,v the door cannot be unlocked except from theinside or'byiremoving the pin. In order. to lock theidoor from lthetoutside} Iisimply. use

an ordinary padlock 3'! through the pin 34. Let us suppose, however, that a workman has been accidentally locked behind a door after the padlock has been applied. The accidentally imprisoned workman would simply press on the release pin 3! to effect the release of the latch 26. The releasing of the latch 26 from engagement with the groove 28 in the piston l8 would allow the compressed spring 23 to draw both the piston l8 and the pin and its attached padlock 3'! backward to allow the beveled edge 22 of the plunger 2i! to clear the keeper I2 on the door as illustrated in Fig. 4. Note that the plunger barrel ll is provided with elongated slots 38 to slidably receive the pin 34. After the imprisoned workman has released himself, he presses on the head 2| of the plunger 25 from the outside of the door and the mechanism again locks itself without ever having to remove the padlock 31. Now

it can be seen that anyone desiring to again enter the locked door must unlock the padlock 3'1; but at the same time, any one looked behind such door is able to release himself according to the procedure just described.

While I have described my invention in detail as applied to vault doors or the like, it is to be understood that other applications may be made and various changes in the construction and arrangement of parts resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope in my invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A door lock comprising a substant ally flat plate adapted for mounting on the outside facing of a door lamb, a horizontally disposed barrel attached to said. plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger provided with an enlarged head on one of its ends, a compression spring encircling said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, said spring adapted to move said plunger from a forward to a retracted position, the forward end of said plunger extended beyond the outer end of said piston and adapted to be moved beyond the edge of a door to hold the same in a closed position, means for locking said piston in said barrel and means for locking said plunger in said piston.

2. A door lock comprising a substantially flat plate adapted for mounting on the outside facing of a door jamb, said plate provided with an open recess on the outer face thereof, a horizontally disposed barrel attached to said plate across said open recess, said barrel provided with a slot communicating with the open recess of said plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger extended through said piston and said housing and provided with an enlarged head on one of its ends, a compression spring encircling said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, said spring adapted to move said plunger from a forward to a retracted position, said plunger being made long enough for its forward end to extend beyond the edge of a door to hold the same in a closed position when said plunger is moved to a full stroke in opposition to said compression spring, said piston provided with a notch, a stop on said plunger adapted to engage the rear end of said piston to move the same forwardly as said plunger is being moved beyond the edge of said door, a pawl pivotally mounted in the recess of said plate and adapted for engagement with said notch through said slot to lock said piston in a forward position, and means for locking said plunger to said piston.

3. A door lock comprising a substantially flat plate adapted for mounting on the outside facing of a door jamb, said plate provided with an Open recess on the outer face thereof, a horizontally disposed barrel attached to said plate across said open recess, said barrel provided with a slot communicating with the open recess of said plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger provided with an enlarged head on one of its ends, a compression spring encircling said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, said spring adapted to move said plunger from a forward to a retracted position, the forward end of said plunger extending beyond the outer end of said piston a sufficient length to extend beyond the edge of a door to hold the same in a closed position when said plunger is moved into its forward position, said piston provided with a notch, a pawl pivotally mounted in the recess of said plate and adapted to engage the notch of said piston through said slot, means for locking said plunger to said piston, and means extending through the opposite facing of said jamb for releasing said pawl from its engagement with the notch of said piston, whereby said piston and said plunger may be moved by said compression spring to unlock said door.

4. A door lock comprising a fiat plate adapted for mounting on the outside facing of a door jamb, said plate provided with an open recess on the outer face thereof, a horizontally disposed barrel attached to said plate across said open recess, said barrel provided with a slot communicating with the open recess of said plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger extending through said piston and said housing and provided with an enlarged head on its rear end, a compression spring encircling the rear end of said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, said spring adapted to move said plunger from a forward to a retracted position, the forward end of said plunger extending beyond the forward end of said piston a sufficient length to be moved beyond the edge of a door to hold the same in a closed position when said plunger is moved in opposition to said spring into its forward position, said piston provided with a notch, a stop on said plunger adapted to engage the rear end of said piston to move the same forwardly as said plunger is being moved forwardly, a pawl pivotally mounted in the recess of said plate, a spring adapted for urgin said pawl into a locking engagement with the notch of said piston, means for locking said plunger to said piston, and means for unlocking said door from a position inwardly thereof comprising a release bar slidably mounted through the opposite face of said door jamb and said flat plate, the inner end of said release bar being aligned for engagement with said pawl, whereby inward movement of said release bar will overcome the spring of said pawl to release the pawl from its locked position in the notch of said piston.

5. The combination with a door having a keeper thereon and a door jamb, of a door lock comprising a plate mounted on the outside facing of said jamb opposite said keeper, a horizontally disposed barrel attached to said plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger extending through said piston and said barrel and provided with an enlarged head on the rear end thereof, a compression spring eIlCilCliIlg the rear end of said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, said compression spring adapted to hold said plunger in a normally retracted position in said piston, stop means on said plunger adapted for engagement with said piston when said plunger is moved forwardly in the same to move said piston forwardly in said barrel, means for locking said piston in its forward position, the forward end of said plunger provided with a hole positioned slightly forward of the outer end of said piston, a locking pin removably mounted in the hole of said plunger, the forward end of said plunger being made long enough to extend across said keeper to hold said door in a closed position and means for unlocking said piston from a position on an opposite side of said door permitting its withdrawal by said compression spring whereby said door may be opened without removing said locking pin.

6. The device as claimed in claim wherein a portion of said plunger is made square in cross section and wherein said barrel is provided with a square opening in one end adapted to slidably receive said plunger.

7. In a door lock of the class described, the combination of a plate adapted to be fastened to the outside facing of a door jamb, a barrel horizontally mounted on said plate, a piston slidably mounted in said barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in said piston, said plunger extending beyond the outer extremities of said piston and said barrel and provided with an enlarged head on one end and a, beveled face on the opposite end and in which end is a hole adjacent to the forward end of said piston, said plunger adapted to be moved forwardly in said piston and said housing to a point where said beveled face will register with a keeper mounted on said door, said piston provided with a notch adapted to register with a piston locking means for holding said piston in a forward, locked position, a helical compression spring mounted on said plunger and interposed between said enlarged head and said barrel, a stop on said plunger adapted to engage said piston to move the same into its forward locking position as said plunger is moved across said door, means for locking said plunger to said piston consisting in a pin slidably inserted in said hole in the forward end of said plunger, and means for disengaging said piston locking means to open said door from the inside, comprising a release bar slidably mounted through the opposite facing of said door jamb and said plate, the inner end of said release bar being adapted for engagement with said piston locking means in a, manner whereby an inward movement of said release bar will disengage said piston locking means from said notch, said barrel provided with an elongated slot adapted to slidably receive said pin upon the withdrawal of said piston and said plunger locked in the same by said pin at one end and said stop at its opposite end.

LOUIS C. CLAIR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 138,360 Arnold Apr. 29, 1873 305,294 Corn Sept. 16, 1884 1,811,993 Berry June 30, 1931 2,094,369 Millice Sept. 28, 1937 

